Road to Hell
by hyperpsychomaniac
Summary: It’s said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. One world is on its way already and a Lightning Knight lays the first stone on his own road. But are they set in concrete? Chap 5 is here !
1. Default Chapter

A/n: This started out as an idea for a cool battle scene. Turned into this fic. I haven't really written anything like this yet so please review.

**

* * *

Road to Hell **

He'd chased it through the forest, following the trail of destruction. Ripped up trees and torn vegetation marked its path. Why the creature hadn't chosen to fly was unclear, perhaps it just liked seeing its own power wreaking havoc on the landscape.

Or maybe it just liked to see the destruction of life. That much had been made clear when it descended on the small, out-of-the-way outpost. Its attack had seemed pointless. Swooping low, it had breathed liquid fire over everything. Anyone who'd tried to escape the burning buildings in those first few minutes had been grasped up in its razor talons and dashed to the ground.

The first Knights on the scene had made it there almost too late. The three had descended, taking in the destruction, but as yet unaware of its source. The creature made itself known quickly.

He'd seen the dark shape throw itself through the flames. It seemed like it would crash to the ground but a flap of silver tipped wings boosted it up at the last minute. Smoke and embers swirled away as it landed.

He prepared his wrist cannons along with his fellow Knights. The creature didn't blink. It opened its beak and screeched. High-pitched and wailing.

They'd fallen to the ground. Clutching their hands over their ears to try and block out the noise. He'd somehow managed to look up. Only had because he'd felt weak being brought to his knees by a simple noise. As he'd looked up the wail seemed to reverberate, he'd even thought it was calling out the words, _is only a taste…the weakness soon destroyed…_ And the creature cut the cry, silver wings flapping again as it shot up into the sky.

Sparx had raised her sword after it, firing blasts of energy at the smoke filled sky. None had hit their mark.

"Leave it, Sparx," Ace had said. "There are other things to do."

He'd been right. The fires still burned and there were people to save.

The other Knight forgot the words he'd almost heard for the moment. He'd been quickly caught up in the immediate threat. But afterward, he remembered.

* * *

And no one believed him. 

"Random, we were there. It didn't say anything. You must have been hearing things," was Ace's explanation.

"Like you could hear anything over that racket, anyway." Sparx had added.

Random knew better then to not trust his instincts. He'd pushed it.

Ace had finally forwarded his friend's misgivings up the chain of command. Along with the recommendation that the creature be chased down and destroyed before it could do anymore damage.

"The creature is not an immediate threat," the General's voice over the communication system. "When it shows itself again, rest assured, we will destroy it. But we cannot justify a chase based on the ramblings of one of your Knights, Lightning. A griffin does not speak, nor do they attack based on the desire to destroy weakness. I doubt we will see it again."

She didn't know of Ace's habit of letting his fellow Knights listen in on relevant communications.

"So now I'm a nutcase?" He'd said as Ace cut the channel.

"You know I don't think you're a nutcase. But you don't have any proof it's going to do anything."

"I have what I heard and I have what I… feel."

It was a weak argument and he'd known it.

"Orders are orders, Random. We let it go."

He hated orders. Lately they seemed to have a habit of being based on politics more than doing the right thing. Translation: We can't let you go after the creature because if you're wrong, we will have misappropriated out resources. That could give us a bad reputation. We'd much rather take the risk of you being right and try deal with the problem when it occurs. Yes, it may cost lives, but certain procedures must be followed.

He'd always hated politics. Do Right and Fear Not had turned into Do Right (for the greatest number or richest few) and Fear Not (but you'd better make sure you 'respect' the guy in charge). Then there were the numerous subsections of The Code that went on for at least 40 data screens. It took two screens to say 'don't flirt on duty.'

"How long has it been, Ace, since they let us decide what to do in the field instead of having to check with HQ every time we want to go behind a tree?"

Ace had half smiled at that, but answered seriously. "Too long. At least they can't contact us when we're in another dimension."

"Meanwhile, ours gets trashed by Evils and the Knights are tip-toeing around each other."

"The Evil's haven't taken over yet. And Lord Fear can't do much harm from prison."

"The way things are going he doesn't need to."

"Well, we're still here. And we have Sparx now. She doesn't seem too overly concerned with tip-toeing. But I know her heart's in the right place. We can still make a difference."

"By letting the griffin go?" He'd questioned. Officially, that would have been insubordination. In reality, it was a simple question.

"We let it go."

He'd understood Ace's position. The order had been given.

So why had he defied it?


	2. Battlelines

Disclaimer: Forgot this in the first chapter. Whoops. I don't own Ace Lightning. I do however own the OC's in the fic. Ask if you wanna use em.

A/n: Next chapter! Please review, I like feedback. :)

_

* * *

Why am I defying me best friend?_ he wondered, as he pushed the last charred branch out of his way. The forest ended abruptly, the landscape changed to a dry lava field. Smoking holes were scattered across the cracked surface. In a few places lava streams still flowed under the crust, showing themselves through 'skylights' and then disappearing back into the underworld. The black surface stretched away and steadily upwards, finally tapering to a peak in the near distance. That peak had been spewing smoke and occasionally a few sparks of fire that lit up the night sky. He hadn't particularly worried about it at the time. 

He began to question his actions even as he took to the sky to survey the lava-scape. Sure he had been doing what he felt was right. But did that make it right? It had been right to chase down a danger to his world. But it hadn't been right to betray Ace's trust. What he'd done reflected on his friend. Friendship aside he was his superior. That meant Random's actions were his responsibility.

_Perhaps orders have some value after all_ he thought with a grim smile. _Even if it's only that you don't get in trouble for failing when you follow them._

_But I seriously doubt any Evils are going to give me the same courtesy _he quickly countered himself. _I have to destroy this thing. I know Ace will understand. I just couldn't tell him otherwise he'd be in even more trouble. I know I'm doing what's right. _At least it had felt right earlier. He knew the creature was dangerous. But he couldn't quite remember how he'd figured that. Had it actually said anything earlier?

He didn't like doubt. He'd just have to trust himself. He dismissed the thoughts as he landed on a charred piece of earth, making sure he tested its strength before fully putting his weight on it. With the amount of tunnels that were running under the surface he didn't want to land on any. Their ceilings were in places paper thin.

The griffin's trail had become harder to follow on the already decimated landscape. He looked around. The only noise was the rumble of molten rock shifting beneath the black crust.

"Show yourself, griffin!" He immediately felt stupid as his voice echoed around the lava-scape. The creature couldn't understand him.

There was a rattle of displaced stones and pebbles and the griffin suddenly appeared on an outcrop of rock above Random's head.

He powered up his wrist cannons. The creature didn't seem as large as before. Perhaps it had been magnified by the flames and the fact he'd been looking at it while down on his knees. Its body was a dull bronze colour, not shining as much as it had earlier. The tips of the feathered wings were still the same silver; further flecks of the colour covered its body.

Its beak opened slightly. Instead of high pitched, this time, the noise was like that of a Kite, underlaid by a growl. It had the effect of making the creature sound like an oversized pidgin. But underneath that he heard something else.

_You seemed different to the others. _The voice had come from the griffin but its mouth never moved. _Why do you associate yourself with their weakness?_

"So you do speak?" he replied, unable to hide a half smile.

_After a fashion. The problem is not that we don't speak, but that none listen. None have the strength. But you hear me?_

"Yeah, I hear you. Now hear me. What was all that back at the outpost?"

_Weakness must be destroyed. I merely followed that instruction._

"Do you know how many people you killed?" he growled.

_No._

"Too many. I'm here to make sure it doesn't happen again."

_It will. You have a choice, Lightning Knight. Weakness has contaminated this world. It must be purged. That is what I intend to do. You can either help me or be destroyed. You are currently sided with weakness. But inside you there is strength. I can awaken it. You can help make this world strong again._

He'd felt something stir within his programming. An image of the Knights bickering amongst themselves as their world fell apart around them. "You have a point. The Knights have become weaker. But I took an oath. I cannot allow you to destroy anyone else. And I will not join you."

_Then be destroyed._

It launched itself off the rock, dropping its weight on him.

He pushed against it as it drove him to the ground. Flung it aside.

A wing slapped him to the ground.

He rolled out of the way; fired his wrist cannons.

A clawed paw slapped the lightning away. Its mouth opened.

Rolled out of the way again.

A fireball blasted a crater in the ash.

The roll turned into a crouch. Lightning blasted from his wrist cannons again.

The creature took the shot in the chest. It beat its wings so it could move ahead of the blast and take less damage.

He flew up to meet it.

It dropped from the sky.

Claws dug into his shoulders and smashed him back to the ground.

* * *

She'd woken with a start. The image of the creature that had pinned her to the ground, pressing its beaked face nearly against hers had disappeared. She lay back down in bed. But turning over she realised the space next to her was empty. 

"Rand?" she called softly, not wanting to wake her six year old son.

And cold. Maybe he'd gone to the Thunder Tower. At one o'clock in the morning? It was one of the things you had to put up with when your husband was a Lightning Knight. But, no, that didn't happen a lot. And he'd usually wake her to say goodbye when it did.

After checking quietly around the house, she grabbed the communicator from beside the bed. _Wait, this one's Random's. He should've taken it._ She called the Thunder Tower on it anyway.

Ace had answered. "I sure hope you're calling to say you're going to come help with all this paperwork. Sparx left early."

Whoops. Caller ID. "Ace, it's me. Random's not there?"

"Oh, hi there, Sara. No. I thought he was at home."

"So did I."

There was a pause on the other end. "I think I know where he's gone. Or at least why."

"Ace, what's going on?"

"He must've gone after that creature."

Random had told her about that. He'd also said they'd been ordered not to. "He didn't!" she growled exasperated. While Random would happily do as he was told as soon as something came up he thought was wrong he'd do almost anything possible to fix it. That now seemed to include disobeying orders.

"Don't worry. I'll get Sparx and go after him." She could hear movement on the other end and what sounded like a stack of paper falling to the ground. "At least we'll have an excuse to destroy that thing if he's found it."

"Just make sure he's okay."

"Will do. Lightning out." Ace hung up.

She put down the communicator and got back into bed. Random would be fine. At least that's what she told herself. Still, it took her awhile to get back to sleep.


	3. Field of Fire

As soon as he'd hung up he dialled his communicator again. It rung a few times and just as he thought it wasn't going to be answered Sparx picked up.

"Ace…" Sparx sounded like she'd just woken up. "What is it?"

"I think Random's gone after the griffin. We need to find him."

"What! How come he gets all the fun!" Sparx now sounded awake.

"It won't be fun if he gets himself destroyed. He shouldn't have gone alone."

"Yeah, I'll say."

He'd been walking as he talked and now entered what could be termed a garage. At the moment it only contained a smallish scout ship. It was about 20 feet long, pointed at the front and curving back to three more equal spaced points. The windshield was a lightning shaped gash in the dark grey metal. He stepped up to its side and whacked a panel, causing a piece of the hull to slide up. "Well, get ready. I'll come and pick you up in the Bolt and we'll go get him. Lightning out."

He stepped into the interior and powered up the ship, its engines whining. He'd known Random hadn't liked letting the thing go, but he hadn't really expected him to go after it by himself. While he certainly agreed with Random, taking the creature on by himself was a reckless move. He would at least have expected him to ask for help. Something seemed wrong. Random wasn't so obsessive as to run off in the middle of the night on a dangerous solo (_unapproved_ he thought grimly) mission. Not usually.

_So why now?_

* * *

The fight had continued for some time and he could feel himself tiring. 

The creature seemed to notice this and threw itself at him again as he paused to catch his breath.

He tried to dodge it but was pinned to the dirt by a clawed paw digging into his back.

Suddenly a massive boom split the air and the ground shook.

The griffin moved its weight off him. He looked around just in time to see the volcano spiting fire, rock and ash into the air. That and the flaming boulder hurling through the air. He rolled out of the way just as it smashed into the black crust. Cracks formed around it and then it fell through, dragging the surrounding rock with it.

He moved away from the hole and searched for the griffin.

It had somehow gotten behind him and threw him to the ground again.

Fire spurted from the ground behind them. The crust cracked again. Then shifted downwards. An underground lake of fire was suddenly revealed. The slab of rock shifted closer.

The creature grabbed him up in its talons, preparing to throw him in.

He kicked off the rock. The force sent it crashing into the lava, but the griffin's wings kept them both above the furnace. He used the momentum he'd gained to bring his arm far enough around to blast the creatures wing.

It screeched and let go, dipping towards the lava.

He flew back to the surface. Lava flows now covered the landscape and the sky was stained red. It was raining fire and molten rock. Perhaps now would be a good time to leave.

The griffin blasted through the rock ahead of him, cutting him off.

_I am not finished with you, coward._

It hurled a fireball as it said the words.

He tried to turn away but it caught his shoulder, sending him spinning out of control into the ground.

He hit and felt a searing pain in his legs. He pushed himself off the ground enough to look around and saw the lava flow that he'd half fallen into.

_You have chosen to be weak. _The griffin's voice came from in front of him.

He looked back up at it through the tears of pain that blurred his vision.

_And as you have chosen, so you have become. You are weak. And so you will be destroyed. But I will not destroy you, in honour of the strength you deny. The fire river will do that._ It flapped its wings and pulled up, pausing in the air to find safe passage through the falling rocks and fire.

_I'm not letting you go. If I'm going down I'm going to at least do what I came here for._ He braced himself, pushing himself up on his left arm, then shoved his right into the lava flow. He tried to keep focused as the pain seemed to set his circuits on fire. His hand grasped a half-melted rock. And with the last of his strength he threw it at the creature in the sky.

It hit it in the wing from behind. The griffin screeched and fell, crashing through the crust as it landed. A second later a spurt of fire shot out of the hole.

He stared at it. _Don't let it come back._ He could feel his body going into shock. He kept on fighting it. He had to see if it was gone.

The griffin burst out of the hole, front claws digging into the earth, and dragged itself out. Its wings unfurled behind it, the feathers alight. Lava slipped off its body, leaving burning trails. It let its weight fall on the edge, its wings falling down over it. It looked about as weak as he was.

"You're not… going to destroy… anything," he gasped out. "Not now."

_Weakness will be destroyed _it said. Then it screeched. High-pitched and wailing.

Though he'd had the strength to look at it before, now he lacked it to look away. The sound cut into him like a million daggers. But it wasn't the noise itself, it was what underlaid it. A voice that told him to destroy, a voice he couldn't seem to fight. A voice that drove its claws into his mind like a nightmare and wouldn't let go.

* * *

They'd found the griffin's trail quickly and following it in the Bolt had taken even less time. Before they'd even reached the lava field they'd seen the sky stained red. The Bolt's sensors had started complaining that they were getting messed up by smoke and dust. 

"Ace, that volcano's over here isn't it?" asked Sparx as she tried to tell the ship to ignore its warning signals.

"Yeah. It makes sense. The griffin's a fire element. But even it shouldn't stay around here with all this going on," he replied.

"It might not be that bad…" said Sparx.

That was when the lava-scape had opened before them. Now it was a field of fire.

"Ah… or it could be worse," she corrected.

"Check the sensors and see if they're still here. We should be close enough to pick them up if they are," he said as he slowed the ship and steered towards the inferno.

"You think they've left?"

"If the griffin stayed then Random will have too…"

"They did. We're picking up one electric and one fire based life sign," said Sparx.

"Where?" he asked as he pulled to the side to avoid a falling rock.

The ship protested with a loud beep and Sparx pounded a button on the console with a growl. The warning system switched off altogether. "I'm not sure. It might be because the smokes messed up the sensors but the life signs are very weak."

"Or because their life signs _are _very weak."

"That too."

"Random, what are you doing?" he asked the air. It was a question he'd very much like answered.

"Hang on. It's picking up weapons alright! I've got an energy signal from a wrist cannon and we can follow it."

She pointed him in the right direction and he powered up the ship, perhaps flying too fast as one should through a rain of falling rocks and fire. But while the signal from the wrist cannon was a good thing it also meant the sensors were working. That also meant they were correct when they'd picked up the weak life signs. The problem with weak life signs was that they had a habit of disappearing altogether.

"We're right over it," said Sparx suddenly.

He hit the brakes and the Bolt slewed to a stop.

"Make sure the Bolt doesn't get hit by any rocks, Sparx. I'm going down."

"And I guess that means I'm staying up here," she grumbled.

"Yes. Keep an eye on the ship."

He could hear her mutter something as he flew off and was once more glad she'd ended up with him and Random. He still wasn't quite sure how she'd gotten through training but if she'd ended up with some other Knights he knew she'd have been out on insubordination ages ago. He knew she never meant any of it and the fact that some of them would throw her out on that alone annoyed him. She fought well and she lived for being a Knight. As far as he was concerned that was all that mattered. Anything else could be worked out on the field. The pathetic excuse for a training program certainly didn't do anything about it.

He looked down and saw the griffin. It was entirely engulfed in flames and unmoving. But where was Random? A flicker of blue caught his eye and he saw his friend lying on the ground. He was also unmoving.

"Random!" he called as he flew down beside him.

Random didn't answer him.

He grabbed Random and dragged him away from the lava flow. "Come on, buddy. We're getting you out of here," he said as he gestured for Sparx to bring the Bolt down.

It was when he looked back at Random that he noticed the half of his body that would've been lying in the lava was completely gone. He stopped in shock as his mind raced ahead. That was way too much damage for a recharge to fix.

"Ace!" called Sparx from the ship. "Get him in." Her eyes widened as she seemed to notice Random's state. "Okay, that's bad, right?"

"Yeah…" he replied. "Sparx, how fast can you fly through this?"

"Fast as the Bolt can go."

"Then get in the pilots seat. We need to get Random to a restore point and fast."

"Alright! Don't worry, Ace, we'll get him there with time to spare."

He lifted Random into the ship, frightfully aware that his body weight seemed to be about half of what it usually was. He laid him down on the back bench seat.

"Ace…" Random groaned suddenly.

He knelt down beside his friend, holding onto his shoulder as he did. "Yeah, I'm here."

Random needed to catch his breath before he finally continued, barely audibly: "I'm… sorry…" Then he faded back into unconsciousness.


	4. An Enemy Escapes

A/n: Yes, this next chapter has taken awhile! But it's up now so please RR! The restore points were kindof inspired by the Ace Lightning game. Which is a good game!

* * *

Cutting across the lava field had probably not been wise she decided. The warning system had turned itself on again, deciding the driver was either on something, insane or possibly asleep. She angled sharply around a spurt of fire. 

"Steady, Sparx," said Ace from behind her.

"You try driving," she muttered as she dipped under the falling rock she'd nearly flown into.

"Just stay in control. We want to get there in… one piece."

_Well that's not a good choice of words,_ she thought. She whipped the Bolt in a tight turn, avoiding both an outcrop of rock and another spurt of fire. The flight had been getting steadily more hazardous as they neared the volcano. There was a restore point across the other side which just happened to be the closest. Even so she'd probably have to fly at full power to get there in time.

Restore points had started appearing across the sixth dimension some time ago. They had the unique property of being able to repair almost any damage. They also had the annoying habit of occasionally altering the users program, sometimes making physical or mental changes. Why they chose to do this to some and not others was unclear but some said that those it happened to had sold their soul in exchange for the upgrades. However the points worked they had set off the Knights on a whole stack of rules of use. Luckily they had the sense to allow their use in life or death situations. She was sure this counted as one.

"Can we go any faster?" Ace asked.

"I'm going at full power already."

Ahead of them the earth suddenly split open, throwing a wave of rock into the air.

She reacted almost instantly, pulling the ship higher. Even so the Bolt was hit by a few fragments of rock, luckily not enough to cause serious damage. However the warning system stopped beeping.

"I think we just lost the sensors, Sparx. Can you still fly through this without them?"

"I wasn't really looking at them, actually," she replied. "At least that beeping has stopped."

"Ah… good."

She took a slightly curved course to avoid flying right over the volcanos cone. Even she knew that would be suicide. It was when they started moving away from the volcano instead of towards it that the real trouble started. Before she could see the molten rocks flying towards her through the windshield, but now they were coming from behind her and with the sensors gone they were impossible to pinpoint.

She realised this as one flew past to port and slammed into the earth ahead of the Bolt.

"Woah!" she yelled as she tried to regain control of the ship as it bounced from the all too close impact.

"Sparx, be careful!"

"I can't see those things until they actually hit us, Ace!" she shouted back.

"Hang on."

She heard the hatch open and a second later the wind whipped inside.

"Sparx pull left!" he shouted a moment later. His voice was torn and tossed by the wind but still strong enough for her to pick up the note of urgency. She pulled the control yoke hard left just as an explosion of fire erupted on her right.

* * *

He'd been put to the test, trying to figure out which falling rocks were hazards and how to avoid them. It had taken all his concentration to keep his mind on the task. More than once he had the urge to turn around and check on Random but then he'd be sure to miss something that could quite possibly be fatal. Yet all the while he kept his eyes outside he'd had the nagging feeling that when he finally turned around he'd find Random had disappeared completely. 

As they finally moved out of immediate danger, he looked over his shoulder and found that fear was unfounded. Random still lay in the backseat but he could see his friend's power had dropped even further from when they'd found him.

"There it is!" Sparx shouted in triumph from upfront.

He came and stood behind her. Sure enough up ahead he could see the green circle that was the restore point. It was about four feet in diameter and spun slowly, giving out small sparkles of light every few seconds. This was the device that would restore Random's power. _And hopefully without any side affects, _he thought. Still, they had little choice and Random was already fading fast.

Sparx brought the ship down next to the device and together they lifted Random out onto the green surface. It flared brightly and they both stepped away. What was left of Random's body seemed to saturate with the sparkles of light and then disappeared.

He let out a sigh of relief.

"How long is it going to take?" Sparx asked.

"I don't know."

"Just as long as it doesn't turn him into a chicken or something."

"Sparx, I don't think that's something we have to worry about."

"I hope not."

He sat down with his back up against the side of the Bolt, his eyes on the restore point. "We're just going to have to wait until it decides to spit him out again. Hopefully it'll have fixed him up."

"Well you do know HQ's going to want to fix him up too?"

"Yeah, I know."

When he didn't reply further Sparx came and sat down next to him. Together they waited.

* * *

The young Knight was still stuck on the mediocre jobs. At least he thought they were. He hadn't yet accumulated enough time on them to move onto 'the good stuff'. Which was a pain, he was bored. He was currently situated at the prison. Although considered a slightly dangerous placing a few of the newer Knights were sometimes sent there. Probably because the security was so high-tech and nothing ever happened. Basically, he had absolutely nothing to do. 

He looked up and saw one of the guards walking up the hall. He probably should have asked her for her pass. It was regulations but he couldn't be bothered. He nodded to her as she walked past but she studiously ignored him. _Probably as bored as me,_ he thought.

But then she suddenly turned into the main control station, so quickly, she was through the door before he'd even stood up.

"Hey! You can't go in there!" he called after her. Never mind, the Knight on duty in there would set her right. He'd probably get in trouble though. He walked up to the door; at least he'd make it look like he was doing something. That's when he heard the other Knight scream.

"What's going on!" he yelled pushing the door open and panning his wrist cannons around. He stopped frozen at the sight of a huge dog creature standing in the middle of the room.

He only had enough time to wonder how it had gotten in before it leaped on him and clawed his throat out.

* * *

She assumed her normal form as the Knight before her vanished. She would have rather thrown one of her bombs at him but the energy would probably set off the alarms or simply be rendered inert. That would not be a problem in a few minutes, once she turned all the safeguards off. This, however, wasn't as simple as pressing a button. There were certain measures in place to make sure what she was about to attempt would not succeed. 

Like passwords and codes for example. These she had obtained simply, many of the guards would shout them at the security systems, seemingly oblivious to the fact the prisoners would hear. Not that it would do them much good. The microphones were voice sensitive too. They'd only work for the guards. Not that that was a problem for a shapeshifter.

The hard part had been finding the correct place to assume a new form and the correct persons form to assume. A nondescript guard would never work, the security cameras would pick her up automatically as someone who shouldn't be there. And they'd also notice two of the same pretty soon. She also just couldn't destroy someone and then take their form, not where the security would pick her up anyway.

The Lightning Knights, however, didn't seem to really mind what the prisoners did to each other inside the cells. They hadn't bothered putting any cameras in there. It had been a simple matter of insulting the guard one too many times. She'd walked all the way in to tell her to shut up. As far as the cameras were concerned she'd walked back out ten seconds later.

And now she was in the main control station. She put on the voice of the warden and gave the code she'd obtained a few weeks ago.

"Code accepted. Proceed with your request," said the computer.

She smiled to herself. "Unlock all cells. Transfer energy suppression systems to electrical based weapons only."

The computer hummed. "Request granted."

A few seconds later the alarms began to go off. She stepped out of the control station and went to join her lord, ignoring them. They now served little purpose other than making noise.


	5. Those in Control

A/n: Look! Finally another chapter! I have been really busy with uni and stuff. Whoops. But fear not! I do intend to continue with this story, but it might be a little slow in coming. Too – much – work. Enjoy! And review :)

* * *

Why was he stuck here? He was a genius, and yet here he was, writing a program for a children's game. Surely he could do better than this? 

Still, it was a job and one in the programming business. Sure he was stuck making video games – for now at least. But if that's what the world thought he was good for, then that would be what he'd show the world his genius through. But he'd actually have to finish his work before he could do that.

He inputted another equation into the Random Virus program, which was starting to get pretty complicated even for him.

"Yeah, give him multiple personalities," he grumbled. "Stupid writers, you're not the ones that have to write the programs." At least it provided a challenge. Not as much as the challenge he wanted to be working on, but a challenge none the less.

He opened the program file for the griffin creature, then highlighted the piece of it he wanted and copied and pasted it into the cyborg's program. That would get the right effect. Now he just had to fix the personality switching loop to be random enough, yet still controlled by other parts of the program. He grinned to himself, the program would be sure to annoy the kids, just within their control, but always just that bit too much entwined in chaos for them to get a handle on.

The last thing he'd have to do now was to fix up Random visually, he was going to become a cyborg, the writers had decided. The visual artists had thought this was a brilliant idea and had sent him about a hundred drawings. Of course, it was Rick that had to program it. And he'd do a damn good job too. After all, once he got his other program, the one he really wanted to be working on done, having the graphics as good as he could make them would make it all the better. All the better to prove his genius, that is.

* * *

He was disorientated. The last things he remembered were images filled with fire, Ace rescuing him and… something else. There had been something else, but his mind had blanked it. He could make out the shape of the Bolt as his vision cleared. Ace and Sparx were in front of it and were now standing up. They looked mildly shocked. 

"What's going on?" he asked, still unsure of what was happening. Surely after being dropped in molten lava he shouldn't feel so… He felt stronger. He clenched his hands into fists and then realised his right one was no longer there. It had been replaced by a hulking metal claw. It was stronger. He held it up in front of him and swiped it awkwardly through the air.

"We had to throw you in a restore point," Ace finally explained. "You wouldn't have survived otherwise. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine!" he growled in reply. What sort of question was that? He wasn't weak.

Ace blinked. "I'm sorry. We didn't know it would do that."

"No, it's alright," he said, blinking. He shouldn't be yelling at Ace like that. He was disorientated, that was all. "Thanks. You saved me."

"Most of you, anyway," added Sparx. "You'd think the stupid thing could do better than metal."

He looked down at himself again. His lower half now looked like it had been replaced by a mini tank or something. If he could just concentrate hard enough… his body jerked forward as the wheel began to move. "At least it works," he grumbled as Ace stepped up and grabbed his arm to steady him. "I hope Sara likes metal."

Ace and Sparx helped him get into the Bolt. Sparx jumped straight into the pilot's seat and Ace didn't bother to try and remove her.

As they took off he looked across at Ace. "Ace, I'm sorry. I just hope you're not going to get into trouble for this."

"You did what you thought was right," Ace replied levelly. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

He wasn't quite sure if he agreed with that. "Well, look what it got me." He gestured down at himself.

"I'm sure it could be plenty worse. As Sparx said while you were still out, it could've turned you into a chicken."

He smiled at Ace's attempt to cheer him up and the thought of Sparx saying that. "Don't say it could be worse, I've still got to face HQ. _They_ might want to turn me into a chicken," he couldn't help adding.

"Random, you can handle anything HQ throws at you. If you're lucky they'll be so snowed under with paperwork or something they won't have time to do anything."

* * *

Lightning Knight Headquarters, however, had a lot more to worry about than paperwork. Their highest-security prison had stopped responding to any messages. Still, that didn't yet warrant expecting the worst. In a situation like this a scout ship would be first sent out. 

She knew it, along with its crew probably wouldn't return. She also knew why. Even so, she let it go. It would encounter evils as it neared the prison and then it would be destroyed. By the time everyone else figured out what was going on, things would be very much out of control.

But they'd be in her control. She was setting that control into motion now. Along with a little help. Undesirable help perhaps, but things had to change.

Her guest seemed to survey her office with an air of superiority before addressing her.

"I take it you made sure we were not seen, _General_?" the skeleton asked.

"Really, I have more to lose than you, Fear. Rest assured all possible measures were taken. We will not be discovered."

"Alright, then. Now if I remember correctly, we had a deal."

"Yes, of course."

"Though it would've been a lot more helpful if you had just helped us escape in the first place," he stretched out his neck, putting his bony face right in hers. If he meant it to be disconcerting, she only felt disgusted.

"You do understand I must follow certain protocols."

"And yet you ask for my assistance?" His neck retracted. "Surely this is against your protocols?"

She glared at him. "It is for the greater good. All of ours. I also suggest that you do as I tell you. There is nothing preventing me from sending you back to prison."

"My lady escaped your prison once, I'm sure she can do it again."

"True. Hence I am forced to make a deal with you."

"Yes, you will give me full control of the outlands? All of them?"

"_If_ you remove the Knights we agreed on. They are not in keeping with our standards; if they are not disposed of our world shall never reach its full strength. Surely, you agree with me on this?"

"Well, actually I would prefer if all of you and your Lightning Knights were wiped off the face of this world, but I can't be picky can I?"

She smiled. But it was forced and quite obviously fake. "Splendid."

"As long as I can annihilate Ace Lightning," Lord Fear clenched his hand around his staff, causing the totem to gasp for breath momentarily.

"Well he's not exactly up the top of the list of those who are…" she glanced at Staff Head distastefully, who was trying to regain his breath and in doing so drooling all over her office floor, "undesirable, but as it's all in the name of progress I don't see why you can't indulge yourself."

Lord Fear grinned.

"So long as when the job is done, you and your evils stick to the outlands. If you don't provoke us, we will not come after you. We will not have to deal with each other ever again."

"Yes, a very tidy arrangement," Lord Fear agreed.

"Very well then, you have your instructions…"

"Lord Fear takes instructions from no one," cut in Staff Head.

She turned to the staff, but her next sentence was quite obviously intended for Lord Fear. "He will if he knows what's good for him."

Staff Head glowed momentarily, but Lord Fear slapped a hand on the crystal ball in the toad-like creature's hands, "Fool. They'll pick up the energy!" He turned back to her. "All will be taken care of. Trust me."

"I don't." she replied. "Now get out of my office."

"With pleasure," Lord Fear bowed elaborately. He was overacting. She knew it and he knew she knew it. A glow of energy surrounded him and he disappeared, his lady must have been watching them with one of those crystal ball of hers in order to give him a safe exit. It was slightly disconcerting but she didn't care. Soon, her world would be perfect.


End file.
